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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23661424">Addict</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftBubbles/pseuds/SoftBubbles'>SoftBubbles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Community (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adderall Abuse, Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Community College, Cute, F/M, Greendale, Jeff is Annie's lawyer, Law, Love, Rehab, Slow Burn, i don't know where i'm going with this, relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:41:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23661424</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftBubbles/pseuds/SoftBubbles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeff/Annie AU in which Jeff is Annie's lawyer when she gets sued for running through the glassdoor (as shown in Heroic Origins). They keep in touch while she is in rehab and after.</p><p>(Also sort of irrelevant, but each chapter is titled with one of the nicknames of whichever character that chapter is following, i.e. Annie Adderall, Tinkletown etc.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annie Edison/Jeff Winger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One: Annie Adderall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>  It'd been a week since Annie had stopped taking Adderall. A full goddamn week. Her stomach hurt and was constantly on the verge of vomiting, and her body was so tired that it took all of her strength to not just fall asleep right where she was, but that certainly wouldn't help her case.</p><p>  Annie was walking a few feet behind her parents at the Hamish, Hamish and Hamlin law office lobby, her hair frazzled and her clothes rumpled, reflective of the torment of the past week and a shocking contrast to the almost clinical neatness of her parents' appearance.</p><p>  She kept her eyes trained on the ground as they headed to the elevator. Her parents remained almost cruelly quiet, but whether the cruelty is directed at her or at each other is unclear. The elevator music playing was actually quite soft and delicate, but it only seemed to raise the tension in the air.</p><p>  They arrived at their floor and walked down the hall until they arrived at the door they were instructed to go to over the phone. Annie's father raised his hand to knock on the wooden door, and the Edison's were quickly greeted by a tall man with a wide smile.</p><p>  According to the door, the man was named Jeff Winger, according to the walls he went to Columbia University and according to Annie's eyes, he was annoyingly handsome. The kind of handsome that made her embarrassed to raise her face so he can properly see her too. </p><p>  Annie kept her head ducked low, playing with the hem of her cardigan, as her parents talked sharply to Mr. Winger, whom of which managed to remain as charming in his speech as he was in appearance, no matter how her parents spoke to him, making her wonder if she was able to be so stress-free, she wouldn't have ended up here in the first place.</p><p>  It all started about a year and a half ago. Her parents had always put an incredible amount of pressure on her, but after one-too-many public breakdowns, they started sending her to therapy so they could avoid any further embarrassment.</p><p>  Annie's therapist, Dr. Burg, soon prescribed her Adderall, and although she used it responsibly at first, she soon started popping multiple every day to cope and soon became addicted to the point where she was stealing prescription pads just to get more.</p><p>  Although the past week has been mainly of physical pain, it's also been full of painful clarity. Clarity of how she can barely remember the past year. Clarity of how what was supposed to be the most magical night of her life with her boyfriend at the time, is nothing but an uncomfortable and embarrassing memory. Clarity of how she shouldn't be the only one feeling bad right now.</p><p>  She hadn't told her parents yet, but she plans to go to rehab after the trial is over, also known as acknowledging her problem, which isn't really a hard thing to do (very rarely is it the unproblematic person running through a glass door whilst proclaiming everyone else to be a robot), but every erratic action and nonsensical word always seems to fly right by them.</p><p>  Her parents described the situation to Mr.Winger, or at least, the extremely distorted version to make the family look better, switching between putting the blame on her 'manipulative' ex-boyfriend and her 'quack' therapist.</p><p>  They talk for another three minutes or so before he asks to speak to Annie alone. Her parents get up slowly, before giving Annie a look to tell her to follow along with their plan. </p><p>  "So that was all bullshit, right?" Annie's head snapped up to face him, forgetting to care if he saw her acne-ridden face or how close she was to having a double-chin.</p><p>  "...Uh, whaaat makes you think that?" She had fully intended to keep up the charade her parents had made, so this really threw her off.</p><p>  "Are you kidding? I talked to them for like five minutes. Any longer and I wouldn't've been able to keep myself from calling them out on it." </p><p>  "Well congratulations, it typically takes years for most people to realize how awful they are - if they ever do." Annie straightened her back from the way it was awkwardly bent forward before and crossed her legs, making herself as comfortable as this conversation is turning out to be.</p><p>  "With all that out of the way then, what <em>actually</em> happened?" His gaze hardened ever so slightly upon her, but it still changed the feeling within the room. </p><p>  Annie glanced down momentarily as she wrung her hands and thought up a way to explain it. When she did, she felt much too embarrassed to look him directly in the eye, opting to stare down the pool ball paperweight on his desk instead.</p><p>  "When was the last time you took one?" </p><p>  "One week ago."</p><p>  "That's good, very good - for you and the case. Are you seeking help?" Mr. Winger had grabbed a notepad and pen and had jotted a few things down, but Annie couldn't see what from where she was.</p><p>  "Not yet, but I plan to check into rehab after this is done."</p><p>  "A friend of mine actually has a problem with narcotics, and I know it takes a lot more than a week of going cold turkey, and it'd be a lot easier if you got help sooner rather than later."</p><p>  "Well, I know that of course, but my parents don't really want me to acknowledge that any of this ever happened and if I do they will pretty much disown me."</p><p>  "Disown you? By what you've described of them, it seems more likely that they'd want you back to normal as soon as possible."</p><p>  "You'd think, but they much prefer to ignore these sorts of things. When my brother, Anthony, was being bullied in school, instead of helping him or speaking to the school or the other children's parents, they did absolutely nothing until it got to the point where he was skipping school, and then they just moved him to a different school across town."</p><p>  "Huh. I don't really have a lot of experience with bullies, except for this one foosball demon named Big Cheddar," Annie couldn't suppress her laugh, "but I do know that ignoring them and running away definitely isn't the best idea. Would you hate me for saying I hate your parents?" He ended his sentence with a little bit of his previous charm with a small but silly smile.</p><p>  As she was getting up to leave, he asked for her phone number, and although Annie knew that he only wanted it so he could get the case done without her parents interfering, she felt just a little bit happier when she let herself think that she had finally made a friend.</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two: Tinkletown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Jeff's POV)</p><p>  He watched the girl - Annie - pull back from their parting handshake and then turn to exit his office. When he heard the door click shut, Jeff moved across the room towards the well-stocked minibar in the corner.</p><p>  Jeff swirled the whiskey in his glass lightly before taking a sip, having had decided to have that instead of scotch - which is his usual drink for when he needs to be as serious as he pretends to be. The drink felt raw against the back of his throat, but it was the kick he needed to get to work.</p><p>  When Ted, his boss, had assigned him the case that morning, Jeff was more than a little ticked for having had been assigned something so boring - rich parents having to get a lawyer for when their kid does something stupid while under the influence of something? Not exactly original material.</p><p>  But when Jeff met the Edisons, his view of the case changed quickly. As soon as he opened the door, he could feel the easy-going atmosphere he usually keeps in his office disappear and be replaced by the immense tension being carried through the three of them as they walked in. Most families in this situation have tension as well, but there also tends to be a bit of 'hey, we fucked up, but we're rich so nothing we do will ever have any serious repercussions", but the Edisons were like a ticking time-bomb.</p><p>  Another big indicator that something was off, was Annie. The kids in these cases tend to be as cocky and self-assured as Jeff, but she seemed like she was barely holding it together, which Jeff initially attributed to being symptoms of withdrawal or that she was embarrassed, but for the most part that went away when her parents left the room.</p><p>  Jeff couldn't really understand her relationship with her parents as his dad left when he was a kid and his mom just praised every single thing he did, so he never felt stressed or pressured about anything, but that also can be contributed to how when the going gets tough, Jeff gets going to find a way out of it.</p><p>  Jeff moves back over to his desk and grabs the file off his desk and reads over the police report made by the Rankins:</p><p>  <em>"On June 3rd, 2008, Raymond and Lydia Rankin were out on a dinner date, so their son, Ethan Rankin, could have a few of his friends over to celebrate their upcoming graduation. At around ten o'clock in the evening, Annie Eddison arrived and tried to give the group some drugs, and when they refused, she flipped out and even attacked a fellow student, Troy Barnes, before running through the door."</em></p><p>  Ding, ding, ding! Oh look, Jeff's bullshit-o-meter is going off! A few friends over to celebrate their upcoming graduation? They can't seriously think that anyone would believe that's the true story.</p><p>  Furthermore, she attacked Troy Barnes? Troy Barnes, the star quarterback of Riverside High, was attacked by Annie Edison? That's why he can't play football anymore? This is going to be the easiest case of his career.</p><p>  Jeff furrowed his brow as this is easy. Much too easy. The kind of easy you would give to someone who just became a lawyer, not someone who's been practising for the past seven years. He placed his glass back on the shelf and left the room, wanting to speak to his boss.</p><p>  It didn't take him long to find Ted, in fact, he was just around the corner from Jeff's office, finishing up a conversation with Betty, a paralegal whose actually retiring in two weeks time. Ted turned as Betty walked away, smiling as he saw Jeff's approaching figure.</p><p>  "Ah, Jeff, how'd the meeting with the Edisons go?" He began to move down the hallway to get to his own office, and with a slight move of his hand signalled Jeff to follow him.</p><p>  "As a group, the meeting was horrible, but when the parents left I was actually able to get some information."</p><p>  "Good, nothing too hard then?"</p><p>  "That's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about, Ted. This is a beginner's case." They entered the office as Jeff got to the point that he wanted to discuss. Before he replied, Ted made sure the door was closed and no one else was in the room.</p><p>  "No, see, a beginner's case is a case for someone who's just gotten their law degree. You don't have a law degree, do you, Jeff?" The smile usually plastered on Ted's face hardened into a flat line across his face as he stared up at Jeff, who had gone quite pale.</p><p>  Jeff tried to make some response, but all that came out were coughs and the start of sentences that he couldn't quite figure out an ending to, and soon he just settled on a simple, "Yes."</p><p>  "A lawyer that lied his way into being one." He started to laugh. "That's brilliant! Oh god, if we had five guys with your balls we wouldn't need thirty lawyers!"</p><p>  "True, but we'd need a good doctor." Jeff began to breathe properly again as the colour returned to his face.</p><p>  "I knew the second I hired you I wouldn't regret it. But it does raise a bit of an issue."</p><p>  "What kind of issue?" He felt his shoulders tense again, maybe he is going to get fired?</p><p>  "I'm totally fine with you not having a law degree and all, but you need to have at least one college credit, right? So if you could get at least one, then I could find a way to justify your hiring if anyone else ever finds out." Jeff almost made a face and a snarky retort, but this probably isn't the best time for that.</p><p>  "Great! So this fall, enroll at one of the community colleges in town and then we never have to worry about this again."</p><p>  "So wait, why did you give me the Edison case?" Jeff had almost left before he remembered his original purpose.</p><p>  "Huh? Oh, because I've met those fuckwits before and they insist on working with the best, and since I am extremely busy from now to their court day, I had to pass it on." Ted smirked and Jeff rolled his eyes before leaving the room. </p><p>  Jeff made his way back to his own office, slightly relieved that he never has to worry about getting caught again, and gets to work on helping Annie out.</p>
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